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Other London events

Earth, Wasps and Fire

The venue has step-free access, but toilet facilities are not wide enough for wheelchair access.
Past event - 2022
09 May Doors 7pm
Event 7:30 - 9:30pm
The Ivy House, 40 Stuart Road,
London SE15 3BE
There's a buzzing in the air... Is it a wasp? Is it a drone? Why not both! Follow the buzz to take a peak into the secret inner lives of volcanoes and social insects.

The sky’s the limit for volcano monitoring

Dr Emma Liu (Lecturer in Earth Sciences)
Volcanoes pose many societal and environmental hazards that affect the world around us. Volcanic emissions can impact air and water quality, agriculture and, for the largest eruptions, the climate. Yet, the gases emitted by volcanoes also contain valuable information about what is happening in magmatic systems deep below the Earth’s surface. We will explore the processes that drive volcanic eruptions and the mechanisms by which eruptions can affect our environment, all through the lens of how drone technology is transforming the way we monitor volcanic activity at hazardous volcanoes.

Social insects genomics, or how to travel in time with a spoon of jam, a “stapler” and a computer

Dr Emeline Favreau (Research Fellow, Genetics, Evolution & Environment)
What is wrong with AntMan? Why do wasps even exist? Is there such a thing as a solitary bee? These are questions that you might have asked yourself. Charles Darwin himself thought a lot about these insect societies where the vast majority of the insects do not reproduce at all. This talk explores the evolution of social organisation, from the earliest existence of a social insect to the present time. I will share some stories from the field and from the lab where I investigate 200 million years of evolution using a pint of beer, a jar of strawberry jam, and a bunch of molecular tools.

About Nathalie Schmidt (Host)

Dr. Nathalie Schmidt (Clinical Research Associate and PhD student at the Division of Infection&Immunity)
Nathalie is one of our UCL Pint of Science coordinators and is excited about harnessing our body’s own defence system – the immune system – to fight tumours and viruses. When she isn’t busy in the lab encouraging immune cells to be more efficient, you can find her baking sourdough bread, volunteering at ZSL London Zoo or having heated discussions with her book club!
Nat can’t wait to join Emma, Emeline and YOU to share a pint and discuss all things Planet Earth!
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